Follow the conservation of the sixteenth century turret clock from Castle Rushen in Castletown on the Isle of Man

Tuesday, 5 June 2012

Removing the main and great wheels

The great wheel and main wheel are mounted on arbors slotted through wooden drums around which the ropes are wound. As you can see from the photographs, each is made in two sections, one fitting inside the other. The drum arbors terminate in squared-off pins onto which the winding handle fits; there is a click(ratchet) to allow the drum to be wound up without turning the clock or striking mechanisms backward.

﻿

Castle Rushen Clock, main wheel, Sinister pivot; note new pinion

﻿
﻿﻿

The pivot dismantled: note the turned section in the jaws of the pivot

﻿﻿

﻿﻿﻿﻿

Castle Rushen Clock: the main wheel removed. The polythene sheet is there to help maintain the correct level of humidity

﻿﻿ The pivots, clicks and wheels are very heavily encrusted with dirty, sticky, congealed grease, as well as modern paint. This needs to be removed and is best done with the components detached. When the cleaning has been completed the wheels and arbors will be reinstated. There is negligible wear in the pivots, which are 19th or 20th century; the photographs show how previous restorers turned down the arbors on a lathe to create smooth surfaces to fit in the remodelled pivots.

About Me

I am the Manx National Heritage Objects Conservator. I superintend the care of MNH collections including such diverse items as Viking swords, historic costumes, fine art, social history objects, boats and motor vehicles.